Alliance Party Calls For The Dismissal Of Winston Peters As Foreign Minister

The Alliance Party says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon must sack Winston Peters as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Alliance Party candidate for Wellington North Josh Harford says that Mr. Peters’ recent comments directed at fellow MP Lawrence Xu–Nan were racist, harmful, and have brought New Zealand into disrepute abroad.

He says they are a disturbing new escalation in Mr Peters cynical and decades-long xenophobic campaign which has fomented social divisions and tensions in Aotearoa.

“As a child of Asian immigrants, I have grown up seeing my community vilified by the likes of Mr. Peters. His incoherent and bigoted rhetoric is harmful and dangerous for the thousands of hard-working immigrants who improve our nation every day.”

“Immigrants staff our hospitals and build our homes. Immigrants to Aotearoa contribute to our communities and ought to be celebrated.”

Mr. Harford says the problem does not stop with Mr. Peters.

“The Prime Minister’s expression of confidence in Mr Peters shows these attitudes are acceptable to the Government in practice, whatever they say.”

Mr Harford recalls the words of the late Hon. Jim Anderton MP in 2002.

Mr Anderton said that New Zealand had been “built by immigrants from all over the world, based on a strong sense of fair play.”

“New Zealand is a much better society than New Zealand First’s attacks on immigrant citizens portray it,” said Mr Anderton at the time.

Mr Harford says those words ring even more true today.

The Alliance says it is untenable for Mr. Peters to retain a post in cabinet, especially as Foreign Minister, whilst abusing a fellow New Zealand citizen and MP.

The Alliance is calling for all decent-minded representatives and parties to unite in rejecting Mr Peters vicious attacks, and to work together to remove him from Government and any position where he represents New Zealand internationally.